be afraid to fail. keep trying. and i've followed that advice. i've failed often, but got up off the ground and continued to go forward. the second was when i was about to get married, i read words of a former, now a long deceased american author about the key for a successful marriage. itch you're wrong, speak up. if you're right, chuckle. >> that is why this guy was able to bring peace to northern ireland. he knows how to make peace. >> my father-in-law has a version of that. if you're wrong, say you're sorry. if you're right, shut up. >> that is all for "early start." i'm going to shut up right now. i'm john berman. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. "starting point" with soledad o'brien starts right now. good morning, welcome, everybody. our starting point this morning, bracing for a blizzard.

the east coast could be walloped with close to three feet of snow. we'll tell you what you need to know about this major storm that's approaching. new this morning, u.s. secrets possibly exposed. iran releasing data that it claims it hacked from a drone. we'll have a live report ahead. governor chris christie has some harsh words for a doctor who said she was afraid he would die in office. he says come see him or zip it. >> until that time, she should shut up. >> new details about lance armstrong's efforts to get back into the game. and it's confirmed, the federal reserve was hacked. is our banking system secure enough? among our guests this morning, janet robinson, a superintendent of the newtown public schools. anna deveer smith from the actress from nurse jackie is working with mayors against illegal guns. she'll join us to talk about this project. and saru jayaraman is exposing secrets of restaurants around the country. plus richard simmons joins us to talk about his new project too.

it's thursday, february 7th. "starting point" begins right now. welcome, everybody. our starting point this morning is bracing for the big one. right now there's a blizzard watch in effect for parts of new england. there's a winter storm heading to the northeast. it could be historic because it is expected to leave behind more than two feet of snow in some places with the first flakes falling tomorrow. we want to get right to indra petersons, she's tracking the weather for us out of atlanta. good morning. >> back on february 17th and 18th of 2003, boston got 27 1/2 inches of snow. we're looking to see whether or not we break that record with this nor'easter. let's talk about how it's expected to form. we're currently watching some severe weather potentially pushing through. we even had a tornado warning in southeast louisiana this morning. this now is forming into a low. it's pathology up towards the carolinas. with that we'll see heavy rain and wind. then it merges with the second system. that's where we form this large

nor'easter. everything is based on the positioning of this low. tons of models are bringing in different amounts of snow and wind. we'll be talking about if the low is closer to the coastline, you're going to see heavier amounts of moisture and heavier amounts of snow. if it's farther away, smaller amounts. the other thing we're watching is where that freezing line is. if the colder air sinks farther to the south, you'll start off with snow rather than sleet and transition to snow. so this is what we're watching. a huge portion of new england here looking for this winter storm watch. blizzard watch goes into effect friday afternoon in through saturday afternoon. as far as the totals, we've already been talking about this, they vary but anywhere from 1 to 2 feet of snow. even michigan has a winter storm warning as we are expecting that first little wave to push energy through that area before it makes its way through new england. so all of this again friday afternoon through saturday morning. we'll continue to monitor here at cnn. also new this morning, u.s. secrets possibly exposed. iran claiming it's decoded now released some footage from a downed u.s. drone. the man identified as a member

of iran's military narrated the black and white aerial footage as it was broadcast on iranian state media. he claims that it's a drone that iran downed back in 2011. also this morning, president obama giving in to congressional demands. he will release classified documents that explain the legal justification for drone strikes that kill u.s. terror suspects overseas. and adding to the drama, john brennan, the president's pick to head the cia and the architect of the drone policy, he'll appear before the senate intelligence committee today. lots to talk about with barbara starr who's following all these developments for us this morning from the pentagon. barbara, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, soledad. all about spice and drones this morning, isn't it? well, this video has not yet been confirmed as the genuine article by the administration, the pentagon or the cia but it's getting a lot of attention. if you look at it, it's perhaps not so compelling itself, but there's plenty to try and figure out. let's get to that in a minute. but i want you first to listen

to -- we translated some of the voice on the tape describing what you're looking at. have a listen. >> translator: this air craft has had many flights in countries around iran. in operations that have taken place in pakistan, this aircraft has provided guidance. >> reporter: so a claim there of u.s. spying on iran and that's really what this is all about. if this is the genuine article, the key question for u.s. intelligence agencies will be what technology now is actually in iranian hands, what do they know and what are they planning to do with it. >> all right, then let's talk about the drone program under scrutiny here at home. there's pressure now from congress and the president will release this classified information about this particular program. what can you tell us about that? >> reporter: possibly very savvy move by the white house releasing a classified memo on the legality the killing americans overseas involved with al qaeda. this is something the senate intelligence committee had been pressing for, for months.

they have the cloerearances to it. the white house had held on to it hours before john brennan this afternoon will go before that committee for confirmation as cia director. they're giving the committee what they want, possibly trying to take some steam out of the hearing, but i think you can count on plenty of fireworks there as they question brennan about drone policy, what he knew about torture and interrogations, what he knows about leaks to the news media. >> barbara starr at the pentagon for us. thanks, barbara. "the new york times" is saying a new set of restrictions is going into effect to force iran into a barter trade for oil because the cash for crude is being blocked from being sent to iranian accounts. the latest punitive step is part of the ongoing effort to convince iran to give up its nuclear program. other stories making news, including this terrible story about this teenager chained by his parents. >> this is a shocking, shocking

discovery out of kansas city, missouri. a teenager found chained to a pipe in the basement by his own parents. local police found the 17-year-old after responding to a tip from a neighbor who suspected he was being abused. the special needs teen told police he had been locked up down tlp since september. casey wine is live for us in kansas city, missouri. casey, what do we know about this? >> reporter: well, we know this is a very horrific incident, according to the police report, hard to imagine that a 17-year-old young man, apparently a mentally challenged young man would be locked in a basement and handcuffed for much of the time to a steel pole since september. now, let me show you where this took place. you can see the house behind me. down at ground level you can see that sliver of light. that is the basement where the police report says they found this 17-year-old teen handcuffed to a steel support pole. they say when they found him, he was on the ground in a fetal position and they said that the

first words he spoke to them were "i didn't do anything. i didn't do anything." they also said that he looked very malnourished and appeared that his cheeks were sunken in. he appeared very, very thin. according to the police report, the teenager told them that he was locked and chained in that basement, he was let out, if you will, let up three times a day to use the bathroom and to eat and he was fed basically ramen noodles and bologna sandwiches. this all came to light after neighbors reported their concerns about this young man, who they had not seen in quite some time. here's what one neighbor had to say. >> i know there was a couple times i came over here after school and he was sleeping on her front porch because they wouldn't let him in the house. it was sad. very sad. we cried a lot yesterday. >> reporter: now, that neighbor also saying that perhaps one of the motivations for this is

because the teen had allegedly hit his mother. they thought he was not controllable and that was their solution, locking him up in this basement. the investigation police say is still under way. police -- prosecutors will not say whether there are any charges that will be forthcoming against the parents. the boy was taken to the hospital and of course he is under protective custody right now, john. >> we certainly hope he's doing well. what an awful story, casey wian, thanks very much this morning. warning that this next video may be disturbing to some of our viewers. a new york nanny caught on a hidden camera hitting a 5-month-old baby repeatedly in the face. this is our first look at the video which happened january 28th. the 52-year-old nanny was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and resisting arrest. so he confessed to doping during his incredible tour de france run. now lance armstrong could name names. brand new this morning, "the new

york times" reporting that armstrong is in talks with the u.s. anti-doping agency to possibly disclose who helped him dope. this report came out only a few hours after the anti-doping agency gave him more time to talk. abc news is also reporting that the disgraced cyclist is under federal investigation for obstruction, witness tampering and intimidation. they call it an active criminal investigation. also new details this morning on the tense hostage standoff in that underground bunker in alabama and the raid to rescue a child. sheriff wally olson spoke to us and he said the bunker where ethan was held captive will be destroyed as everyone there tries to heal. >> it was very emotional time for me because i -- i had a lot of relief to know that he was okay, you know. the childr i have children of my own and i know how important it is to take care of them. that's what we want to do for

ethan. >> authorities say inside the bunker, bunk beds lined one wall. space was very narrow. we also know jimmy lee dykes, the kidnapper, was telling neighbors that bunker that was rigged to blow, he said it was a storm shelter. so in about an hour president obama is expected to open up on faith as religious and community leaders gather for the 61st annual national prayer breakfast. this will be the president's first remarks to the faith community since announcing his support for same-sex marriage. he is scheduled to speak in the next hour and we will take you there as soon as that happens. this may be the most talked-about ad from the super bowl. that guy getting a very, very deep and meaningful kiss with supermodel bar refaeli foregodaddy.com. well, it turns out jay leno was hoping to get in on the action, but it did not quite turn out like he planned. sgl

>> any chance we could recreate the ad here? >> sure. pucker up. >> dude gets around, that's all i can say. >> he's such a nice young man. >> totally nice guy. >> hoping to parlay that into other roles. what a great gig. okay, this morning chris christie firing back at the white house doctor, former white house doctor who said she was worried that he would die in office. this morning, she's responding after a -- after she went on tv and voiced concern that the governor's weight might cause him to die in office. he said basically shut up. it's kind of turned into a little bit of an ugly fight, hasn't it? >> reporter: yeah, i think it's safe to say that chris christie would like a second opinion. he responded to former white house physician connie mariano's

warnings about the new jersey governor's health by calling the doctor a hack and, as you just said, telling her to shut up. the back and forth started earlier this week when he appeared on the late show with david letterman. during the interview as he was joking about his size, christie, as we all saw, took a bite from a doughnut. that concerned former white house doctor connie mariano who has treated three different presidents and she told me christie could die in office if elected president. she called his weight issue a ticking time bomb. at a news conference yesterday, he took issue with the doctor's diagnosis. here's what he had to say. >> she must be a genius. she should probably be the surgeon general of the united states, i suspect, because she must be a genius. i think this is -- listen, this is just another hack who wants five minutes on tv. and it's -- and it's completely irresponsible, completely irresponsible. my children saw that last night. if she wants to get on a plane and come here to new jersey and

ask me if she wants to examine me and review my medical hiss toerks i'll have a conversation with her about that. until that time, she should shut up. >> reporter: so there you go. christie was so upset. in addition to that, dr. mariano says the governor called her to complain about her comments. >> when they had that phone conversation, was it friendly and they buried the hatchet? >> reporter: i don't think so. she said the governor was clearly venting his frustration. she tried to explain to him she was just trying to speak to him in a constructive way, but she says she has no regrets. here's what she told anderson cooper last night. >> well, it was rather shocking to hear those things. i was in clinic, so i did not hear his broadcast, but he used some pretty strong words there. out of deference to him, i'm not going to comment on that, but i can only share with you that that phone conversation, when i think of it, the words gracious and appreciative do not come to mind. >> reporter: and dr. mariano has offered to give the governor a

full physical. you heard christie say she could come out to new jersey. she offered him basically the same deal, except come out to arizona and talk to her at her practice there. but based on their conversation, she says it's unlikely the governor is going to make that appointment. >> it's interesting how what started as a joke has really become this big issue. all right, thanks. appreciate that. richard simmons, who we spoke to yesterday, he says he also would like to sit down with governor chris christie. i talked to him yesterday. he said that he believes that he could say some words to the governor to help him with his weight problem. here's what he told me. >> all i would love to do is without a camera around sitting with him for just 15 minutes. >> and you'd say what? >> i would turn it around for him. i would turn his life around. that's the gift god gave me. >> again, i'm going to say -- i'm going to go on a limb and say probably governor christie

not interested, but i might be wrong. my entire interview with richard simmons and the new project that he's working on, that's coming up in the next hour of "starting point." up next, are newtown and its children being exploited? we'll tell you why the school summit is outraged about a group of kids that are going to perform at a pregrammy party. not the same kids who performed at the super bowl. also business news today. >> there's a new development in those major online open courses. could it be a solution for the tuition bubble? tiny first steps to those online courses actually becoming traditional college credits. sno] ♪ [ snoring ] [ male announcer ] zzzquil™ sleep-aid. [ snoring ] [ snoring ] [ male announcer ] it's not for colds. it's not for pain. it's just for sleep. [ snoring ] [ male announcer ] because sleep is a beautiful thing™. [ birds chirping ] zzzquil™.

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this year's super bowl was preceded by a really wonderful moment when the sandy hook elementary school chorus prmp d performed "america the beautiful." the performance was very emotional and brought emotional responses from the fans and the players and especially jennifer hudson got up and sang with them and she also connected to gun violence. so people were very moved. now there's another children's choir that's been grabbing its own headlines. they had this performance on "good morning america" last month and they have another performance at a grammys preshow during the weekend. all that has made some in the newtown community angry. the superintendent, janet robinson, is back with us this morning. it's nice to have you with us. i appreciate your time. so i'm a little confused. are these two choirs connected? >> good morning. no, they are not. the group that sang, the chorus that sang at the super bowl is a

chorus of sandy hook students led by their music teacher. i do not know for sure who the other group is. >> so the group that's going to be performing at the pregrammy celebration is not this same group of sandy hook elementary school students or students who are necessarily from santa hook or newtown schools? >> that's correct. the sandy hook chorus, a group of students that were randomly selected to go to the super bowl, were our students. i do not know who the students are in this other group. >> okay. so the other group is run by a woman named sabrina post and the name of the group is a newtown music project. do you still hear me? it seems like we have lost -- let's see if we can redial her in and i'll walk through the story with you because weirdly enough this is more complicated than it should be. a woman named sabrina post is now organizing this second chorus, and she has done this gma thing and is basically

creating this fund, she says, that would go back into the community, but it's angered a lot of members from the community. >> are they from newtown, these kids? >> i take a long breath because it's complicated of the of the 21 students in this second chorus, i believe some of them are affiliated with sandy hook elementary school. either were students or currently are, maybe as many as 12. so kinda is the answer to that. >> to the public, though, we see the pregrammy stuff, we think these are kids from newtown, this is supporting the newtown kids. >> does it matter then, i guess is the question. this teacher used to be the choir instructor in the newtown public schools and had some legal challenges that forced her ouster back in 2005, which adds another wrinkle to this very complicated and tricky story. here's what she said, sabrina post, about really why she's doing this. >> anything that we are doing here is for the sole purpose of

raising money so that it will go back to the town and to the children, especially, of the town. >> so the dilemma, of course, becomes when money is involved, these things become obviously both big targets for people trying to exploit, you know, the students and their story and figure out how they can make money personally, which is unclear at this point if in fact sabrina post is doing that or what exactly her aim is. nothing that she has done so far or said so far. i mean she said she's not taking any payment, she's a volunteer. but you can see the challenges raised. >> if she doesn't want the newtown tragedy used for purposes of other choirs, then she's perfectly within her rights to say, look, this is not fair. is she coming back? >> you know it's interesting, we're having obviously audio problems and can't get her back up. we'll try to get her a little later while we fix those problems. but we have raised all the questions. >> they both sound nice, the

choirs sound nice and they're kids singing for a good cause. >> it ultimately makes some people in the community mad. we've got to take a break. still ahead this morning on "starting point" does the nba accept toddlers? look at this kid. he's awesome. still in diapers. we'll tell you more about him straight ahead. i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. [ clears his throat ] all right that's a fifth-floor she's riprobleok.. me isn't she? not in my house! ha ha ha! ha ha ha! no no no! not today! ha ha ha! ha ha ha! jimmy how happy are folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico? happier than dikembe mutumbo blocking a shot. get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more.

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business news. u.s. stock futures are up slightly ahead of another very busy day of corporate earnings. we'll get reports or first-time jobless claims, also consumer credit later today. the dow, as you know, about 200 points away from its all-time high. will it hit it again? the main reason it's up so high, corporate profits, and the fed stimulus. speaking of the fed, it has been hacked. the fed downplayed the attack saying, quote, this incident did not affect critical operations at the federal reserve system. according to reuters, hackers compromised a database for communication between banks during a natural disaster. a huge milestone in music technology. apple said wednesday the 25 billionth download from itunes, that's equivalent to selling more than three songs for every person on earth. the jam, take a listen. ♪ it's monkey drum by chase. how do you say that, the british dj that's big on the music

scene. the guy who downloaded it is from germany. he got an itunes card for more than $13,000. >> i didn't even know they sold itunes gift cards that went up to $13,000. >> that's what he got. >> i'm surprised it wasn't justin bieber. still ahead this morning on "starting point, she stars in "nurse jackie" but she's getting a little political. she'll tell us why she wants to strengthen gun control laws straight ahead. twins. i didn't see them coming. i have obligations. cute obligations, but obligations. i need to rethink the core of my portfolio. what i really need is sleep. introducing the ishares core, building blocks for the heart of your portfolio. find out why 9 out of 10 large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock.

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minutes or so he'll be making his first remarks to the faith community, ever since he announced his support for same-sex marriage. we'll bring those remarks to you live. we're expecting those at 8:05 a.m. eastern time. other stories making news this morning, john has that. a big winter storm will be a big problem for us. >> they're talking about more than 2 feet in boston. this is about to blast the new england. parts of new england are already under a blizzard watch. two feet or more of snow could fall in parts of massachusetts and rhode island starting tomorrow. much of the northeast will be facing freezing rain and damaging winds. defense secretary leon panetta gets fired up in his final days on the job warning we are on the brink of the most serious readiness crisis faced by the armed services in more than a decade unless congress takes action to stop the across-the-board budget cuts from taking effect on march 1st. >> this is not a game. this is reality.

these steps would seriously damage a fragile american economy and they would degrade our ability to respond to crisis precisely at a time of rising instability across the globe. >> even as these budget cuts loom, the u.s. air force just renewed its nascar partnership with richard petty motorsports number 43 car. nascar says the air force will be the primary sponsor for two races and associate sponsor all season. senator marco rubio tapped to deliver the republican response to the president's state of the union address next year. the florida senator will speak live in english while a prerecorded version runs in spanish on spanish language networks. the gop trying to reach out to hispanic americans. 71% voted for president obama in november. so recently made xbox contributor dick morris sat down with piers morgan wednesday night and they went over several topics.

here's what mr. morris said about being so very, very wrong in predicting a mitt romney victory. listen. >> the question really is why obama won by such a margin. and i think the answer is that there has been a fundamental demographic shift in the united states. and i thought that it surfaced in '08 because of a charismatic candidate. i thought it would go back down again and it did in '10. but in 12 they showed up in huge numbers and eight million whites stayed home. and i think the republican party has got to change in fundamental ways, otherwise it will never win another election. >> that was dick morris who again predicted the romney victory. so it has got to be the diapers. check this out. a toddler showing off some pretty sick basketball trick shots. by all accounts, this video is totally legit. oh, my gosh, even that one. 2-year-old titus is his name. the guy who posted this video on youtube said he began shooting baskets shortly after learning

to walk. he started filming sometime after that and totally got carried away. this video has close to two million hits on youtube. they say it's real. i don't know. >> you're just jealous. >> yes, a, i'm very jealous. b, i'm not sure that's real. the one from lying down and shooting? i don't know. >> i love that this kid has the pacifier in his mouth. oh, my god, that's hilarious. fast forward 18 years. >> we're going to find out -- >> the kid will be in the nba. >> it will be like the bird who came down and picked up the toddler. >> i believe this one. and you know how cynical i am. i believe it. let's talk a little bit about gun control this morning. if you do not know our next guest for her award-winning one-woman stage shows you probably will recognize anna deavere smith from her many recurring television roles, most recently on "nurse jackie." here's a little clip of that.

>> where are you going? >> disneyland. >> when are they expecting you? >> today. now. >> this is not good timing. >> i know. i'm sorry. it's a small window. if i don't get in, they're going give my bed to somebody else. >> well, yes, that is how disneyland works. >> anna deavere smith is one of many celebrities speaking out against gun violence in capitol hill this week. yesterday there was a news conference that also featured the comedian chris rock, actor adam scott, singer tony bennett. they all urged congress to act on the president's plans to tighten the nation's gun regulations. anna deavere smith joins us this morning. nice to have you with us. >> nice to be here. >> you're usually not political outside of your roles. i've never -- i can't think of a time where i've seen you at a press conference taking a side politically. >> the work i do in the theater seeks to promote social points of view. but this is different. this is a time that i feel it's important to come forward and take advantage of this dark

moment to remind americans that we have also a history of nonviolence and we need to find ways to get automatic weapons off the street and to campaign for background checks and to make gun trafficking a federal crime. >> how did you start working with mayors for illegal guns? >> i was just invited to do so and i'm very proud of our mayor, bloomberg, and also mayor menino of boston. mayors against illegal guns has been in operation since 2006. so the infrastructure is there. a lot of other grassroots organizations trying to control what's going on with guns and so this is a chance when the nation is looking, understands how tragic this is, that we ought to be able to get something to happen. >> what do you think celebrity can leverage in this? i'm sure you saw that matchup of a lot of the celebrities who were criticizing or talking about gun violence and saying we have to figure out how to manager gun violence and they intercut with it those same celebrities using guns in their

various roles and various movies. so can it rub both ways? >> maybe they're having a transformative moment, i don't know. of course to think about hurting -- to think about getting all celebrities or all artists in one basket of anything would be like herding cats. and also, of course, it's interesting that the first and second amendment are right there right next to each other. i think a lot of celebrities are coming forward right now to use the fact that people know them on screen to bring attention to this. >> can i ask you, do you think this moment is going to be any different? do you think it's going to be different this time? >> i hope so. i hope so. >> what gives you hope to think so? i feel like i've now covered, john, you and i between us have covered ten, 12, 15, many, many of these sorts of shootings. it feels a little bit different to me as well. but history would tell me that it's not different. >> maybe it's just the accrual of these horrible, horrible events over a short period of time that causes us to do some introspection and to ask more of our legislators.

>> soledad brought up the video of celebrities shooting the guns. do you think hollywood has any responsibility here? a lot of people do make a lot about the violence in films and tv. >> well, i think that hollywood, again, it's like herding cats. what's hollywood? i'm hardly going to get a script at my door to be a gun-toting rambo. that's not going to happen. >> i'd watch it. >> sounds like something i've written. you would be perfect. >> i think it's out of responsibility, it's a privilege. i think it's a privilege and an honor and an opportunity for any of us who get to be on your show or any other show to say, hey, let's get background checks. let's get these high-capacity military weapons off the street. >> would you turn down a role -- i'm sorry, abby. would you turn down a role if someone said you're going to be toting an ar-15. it's a great role and it's rambo 4 and starring you. >> well, i would, yes. >> you'd take it?

>> no, i would turn it down. >> okay, just checking. i'm curious -- >> she's tricky, i know. soledad is a tricky one. >> when you look at a city of chicago versus salt lake city, different things need to be done in different parts of the country. what do you think makes sense nationally? because this is obviously a national effort that you guys have. >> what makes sense nationally -- look, i was thinking about the safety patrol. when i grew up in baltimore, public school number 144, we had safely patrol. >> i was a safely patrol. >> you were? a white thing across here, a badge. >> yes. >> this very nice young man met me in washington to go to the press conference and he's from onn, right, a dairy kid grows up in a rural community with metal detectors. where have we gone that school is no longer a place where you can be safe, have imagination. so, you know, i think it's time for us to -- all of us to see what we can do and talk about it and talk until it changes. >> times certainly have changed. anna deavere smith, so nice to

have you with us, appreciate that. still ahead on "starting point," batter up. a 148-year-old baseball card is going for an impressive price on the auction block. we have details up next. then if you ever wonder what really happens at your favorite restaurant behind the scenes, from low wages to unhealthy work conditions, there's a new book that exposes the dirty underbelly, and we mean dirty, of the restaurant industry. it's called "behind the kitchen door." the author will join us up next. director's voice: here we go. from the top. and action for over 75 years people have saved money with gecko so.... director's voice: cut it! ...what...what did i say? gecko? i said gecko? aw... for over 75 year...(laughs. but still trying to keep it contained) director's voice: keep it together. i'm good. i'm good. for over 75...(uncontrollable laughter). what are you doing there? stop making me laugh. vo: geico. saving people money for over seventy-five years. gecko: don't look at me. don't look at me.

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welcome, everybody. a bizarre story coming out of national signing day. it's not official for the student athletes, of course, until their parent or legal guardian co-signs on the dotted line, but the mother of a top

high school football player refused to sign his letter of intent because she didn't like his choice. joe carter has this morning's report. good morning, joe. >> i feel bad for the boy and kind of feel bad for the mom because at the end of the day she just really, really loves her boy. she doesn't want him to leave home, she wants him to stay close and that's why she refused to sign her son's laeretter of intent yesterday. alex collins is considered one of the best running backs in the country. he was expected to sign with arkansas but mom stood up and split mid-press conference. she said she wants him to stay close to home in south florida and play football at the university of miami. unfortunately, mom's power play did not work. espn is reporting that mom will sign the papers for him to play at arkansas a little later today. so the big winners on signing day, alabama no surprise. the rich get richer. they take home the number one recruiting class, followed by the buckeyes of ohio state and florida at number three. of course you can't forget about

ole miss. hey, if you like to collect baseball cards, listen up. a very rare card originally found at a yard sale sold at an auction for $80,000. jason leblanc from maine paid 80 large for this card. he said he's going to give it to his 4-year-old son as an investment gift. the card is nearly 150 years old. it's a photograph of the 1865 brooklyn atlantics. it's believed to be a one-of-a-kind baseball card. for those of you watching us from the gym this morning, here's a little extra motivation, get a little extra cardio in. it's the 36th annual run to the top of the empire state building. 600 runners from 18 countries competed in this race and a pair of australians won. mark borne ran from the lobby to the observatory deck, which is 86 floors. he did it in 10 minutes and 12 seconds. susie walshman raced up 1500 steps in 12 minutes and 5 seconds. clearly why they stwengt invent

elevators. go to bleacherreport.com and you can check out today's article that details the winners and losers from national signing day. ole miss the big winner from signing day yesterday, but i'm feeling tired. my gluts, my back, everything, from watching those people climbing up those stairs. >> i don't even like walking up the stairs. it's a tourist attraction. coming up next, we'll talk about restaurants. are they safe and do they discriminate when it comes to hiring? there's a new book that exposes some of the secrets at the nation's most popular restaurants. we'll talk to the author behind the book which is called "behind the kitchen door." we're back in just a moment. >> you look at microbes and see what? >> little chemical factories. >> that's how we treat them. so our goal is to produce fuels that behave exactly the same as petroleum-based fuels. >> we call them drop-in

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breaking news, a manhunt under way right now, authorities in california say a former police officer is the prime suspect in the murder of a cal state fullerton basketball coach and her fiance over the weekend. this is a live look at the search. according to the "l.a. times" they're looking for christopher dornor, fired from the force years ago for falsely accusing a female sergeant for kicking a man at a hotel. the father of the female coach he's suspected of killing him represented him in front of the board that eventually ruled to dismiss him. we'll have more on the developing story as it comes in.

manhunt under way right now. >> john, thank you. how much do you know about your favorite restaurant, not necessarily the specials list or the wine list or their online rating? how much do you know about the people who work there and how they're treated by the management of the restaurant? there's a new book called "behind the kitchen door" takes a critical and revealing look at an industry which is rife with low wages, next to no benefits and sometimes unhealthy work conditions. the author joins us to talk about that and co-founder of restaurant opportunities center, roc which works to improve working and rage continues. i'm trying to figure out if your goal in writing this book was to fix the conditions or expose the conditions. as a diner what do you want me to do when i read about some of the terrible things that go on in restaurants? >> we want to you engage with us, take action. restaurant workers make as little as $2.13 an hour. most people don't know that tips

actually make up the core of workers' wages. it's not just a bonus on top of a wage. actually workers make as little as $2.13 an hour, that's the federal minimum wage for tipped workers, often don't have paid sick days. two-thirds cooks report cooking with feeling sick or the flu. engage with us, speak with management every time, let them know these conditions are not okay for us as consumers. we don't want sick or poor workers serving us and so i think what we want is consumers to stand by our side, speak to management, speak up and mostly let legislators know that $2.13 is just not enough for any worker. >> what does that come to when you factor in tips on average? this is the math you do for the restaurant workers. >> on average, across the country, workers make less than $9 an hour, including tips but there are plenty of workers across the country who go home late at night, graveyard shifts with no tips whatsoever so take

for example claudia, a woman i profiled who worked at an ihop in texas, many nights, graveyard shifts she'd work and earn $2.13 an hour and that's what she'd take home, no tips. although the law says the restaurant is supposed to make up the difference when tips don't, too many times that doesn't happen and this woman didn't have enough money to pay gas, didn't have enough money to put food on her own table. that's a critical issue. the workers can't feed themselves when they're feeding america. >> you tell a lot of individual stories, which i find very, very fascinating but some of these charts that talk about race and opportunity and race correlated to where you're going to be working in the restaurant, i find stunning. tell me about that. >> yeah, unfortunately, we did more than 6,000 surveys of restaurant workers and we found there's a $4 wage gap between workers of color and white workers and it's because workers of color are working in lower level positions. >> busboys. >> dishwashers, exactly, and in

lower level segments so say you're a dishwasher, you really want to move up the ladder, unfortunately our research shows in most restaurants that opportunity just doesn't exist for training and promotions to move up the ladder to a job that actually makes more wages. >> in terms of the kitchen conditions, i feel like it's everyone's worst nightmare, what were some of the horrendous things you saw doing research in this book? >> there is a story of a man, it's not that uncommon, who actually was never paid by the restaurant. the restaurant kept saying we'll pay you, they never paid, ended up being evicted, living in an attic of the restaurant and the same restaurant was doing really nasty things to the food. >> like what? >> they would serve food that had slime on it, it was old. >> ugh. >> yes, the dishes hadn't been washed. these kinds of conditions exist when the restaurant is neither responsible to its workers nor to the consumers. >> the book is amazing "behind the kitchen door" sara jayuramen

thank you for joining us. >> thank you. ahead, two storms converging could mean big trouble for folks in the northeast. what's going to happen when more than two feet of snow could start falling tomorrow. looking live at d.c. in a few minutes the president will be speaking about his faith at the national prayer breakfast, we'll bring that to you live straight ahead. we're back in a moment. ng on va, so i used my citi thankyou card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? and with all the points i've been earning, i was able to get us a flight to our favorite climbing spot even on a holiday weekend. ♪ things are definitely looking up. [ male announcer ] with no blackout dates, you can use your citi thankyou points to travel whenever you want. visit citi.com/thankyoucards to apply. no they don't. hey son. have fun tonight.

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welcome everybody, our "starting point," developing story a manhunt under way for a former police officer who is suspected in a double murder. we'll have details on that story straight ahead.

in just about five minutes the president's expected to speak at the national prayer breakfast, here's a live look at the washington health forum, going to be talking about the president's support of gay marriage. will he mention anything about that today as he talks about faith and his faith specifically at this prayer breakfast. getting ready for a winter storm, a blizzard that could drop up to three feet of snow on parts of the east coast. this is on the move, we'll have a live report plus new developments concerning the u.s. drone program this morning. iran claims it has hacked an american drone as the president prepares to leak to congress a controversial memo. what does this mean for our national security? boeing's dreamliners back in the skies today but one flight only. plus going to talk to cnn's chief washington correspondent jake tapper and fitness guru richard simmons. it's thursday, february 7th and "starting point" begins right now.

welcome everybody. manhunt under way, authorities in california say a former police officer is now the prime suspect in the murder of a cal state fullerton basketball coach and her fiance, happened over the weekend. here's a live look at the search which is being conducted right now, according to the "l.a. times," the man they are looking for is christopher dorner. he was fired from the force, happened five years ago. we falsely accused a female sergeant of kicking a man at a hotel, five years ago he was fired. it's now believed dorner may have committed those murders over the weekend out of revenge for that firing five years ago. the father of the female coach that he is now suspected of killing represented him in front of the board that eventually ruled to dismiss him, that would be the connection that would potentially link him to the murders. we'll have more on the developing story as it comes in. you're looking at live pictures

of the manhunt under way right now. lots to talk about as we wait for the prayer breakfast to get under way, ryan lizza and abby huntsman and richard sa socarides, john berman doing weather -- >> i'll do whatever you want. >> i'm trying to say the news which is focusing on the weather, our big story we're talking about storm systems on a collision course right now and if they come together the way that the forecasters are telling us that they will, new england could be buried by more than two feet of snow over the weekend. maybe three feet of snow over the weekend, specifically focused on i guess boston, right, andry as well. let's get end dra petersindra p.

>> this could be one for the record books. we're watching severe weather or thunderstorms developing here in the southeast. this will form a low and then it will start to make its way towards the carolinas. we've been talking about two storms merging and that's what we're watching into one nor'easter. there is the one expected to bring heavy rain and wind as it moves north along the carolinas and the second system as these two come together the one large bull's eye of the nor'easter. the one thing we all keep talking about is the variants here, all the models bringing in different amounts of snowfall. the reason for that is the position of the low f it's close to the coastline you'll get a lot of moisture here and talking about heavy amounts of snow. the second thing we're watching is the freezing line, you see that colder air farther down to the south, you'll see more snow because you won't switch from sleet into snow, start off earlier with the sleet. we have the blizzard watches in effect from friday afternoon through saturday afternoon, storm surges will be out there two to three feet, strong gusts out there. keep in mind this isn't just

boston, connecticut and rhode island. look at the vast area affected by the storm, all of new england and even snow flurries out toward michigan, eight to ten inches is possible. >> thanks for monitoring it for us, indra, thank you. john has a look at other stories making news. a developing story this morning, u.s. secrets possibly exposed. iran claims it has decoded and now released footage from a downed u.s. drone. man identified as a member of iran's military narrated the black and white aerial footage as it was broadcast on iranian state media, claims it's a drone iran downed in 2011. cnn cannot independently verify the authenticity of this video. we reached out to the pentagon for comment but we have not heard back yet. drones will come up at a confirmation hearing for john brennan, the president's nomination for cia director. he's expected the tough questions the use of drones to target americans suspected of terrorism. the president has agreed to

release classified documents to two congressional committees outlining the legal justification for drone strikes that killed u.s. terror suspects abroad. the grounded dreamliner 787 will fly again today, but for one time only. the faa okayed a one-time flight with no passengers from ft. worth, texas, to the factory in everett, washington, to complete production on just one of the jumbo jets. "the wall street journal" says boeing is proposing a series of battery design changes it believes would help minimize the fire risks. we want to get back to live shots of the prayer breakfast in washington, d.c., that's being held right now. people have arrived and they are obviously already at the podium. the president is set to speak any moment. it is the 61st national prayer breakfast, the vice president, joe biden, is there, the first lady, michelle obama is there, president obama as i mentioned it going to speak in a couple of minutes. 3,000 people in the audience. 140 countries represented. it is described as a non-partisan event, and --

>> it's described as a non-partisan event. >> as i said described as a non-partisan event. explain to me, we'll take the president live as soon as he starts talking but what is the point of addressing this breakfast? >> it's interesting that he's doing this. historically this is a breakfast organized by conservative religious leaders every year. presidents have participated for a long time, every president has, usually speaks. >> the fellowship foundation, they're conservative. >> a conservative religious organization and it's important for government and religious leaders to have a dialogue but it's gotten dicey recently because this organization that organizes the breakfast has been linked to the promotion of anti-gay laws outside the u.s. especially in uganda. >> there's a political process as well that we're watching here, right? it's not just about talking to this particular organization. the fact that the messaging is important, too, it's an opportunity for the presidents to come and talk about faith in

this particular forum. >> it's a little off, this group continued to sponsor controversy surrounding them but one of the few events in the spring of spring season of washington politicians, democrats and republicans getting together at these things that endures, and you have people from both sides of the aisle, usually talking and every year there's some controversy in the faith community with the president will we wonder is he going to bring out issue "x" and this year it's gay marriage. >> since he talked about his support for gay marriage back in may, he really hasn't -- >> most dramatically. >> but he hasn't been in a setting like this where he has an opportunity to speak to an audience that probably does not -- >> how likely -- >> how likely is that going to happen? >> i don't think he's going to do it. i think it would be great if he did but i think it's too in your face. this is not the dialogue that they have. >> given the fact this san audience that is listening to

words about faith, the whole entire point is to speak about either your personal faith or issues of faith that are under discussion right now. what do you expect he'll talk about? >> i don't think he'll talk about gay marriage but this is a time where he has a platform to talk about equality for all americans, as a country we've been about equality. i think he'll make that the focus. we know he's going to be referring to gay marriage that he wants that done in the next four years. i don't think, i don't know what he will address it head on but he will beat around the bush. >> it's generally very apolitical when presidents talk at this prayer breakfast, it's a time to talk about why faith is important in one's own life but very rarely do they get up there with an overtly political message and talk about the details of his agenda. he'll have the state of the union next week and had his inaugural address recently, this isn't the time where he's going to get into the details. >> the president talked about it being a great deal from being back before he was president, he had a proactive outreach to

evangelical groups, groups that democrats don't normally go at. >> brianna keilar, i want to bring you into the conversation and i want to warn you we're live so when the president starts talking we'll jump in and take that live. give me a little sense of what you're hearing will be his focus today. >> reporter: i agree with the panel. i don't think he will be so overt talking about his views on same-sex marriage t would be very much in your face and i don't think this is the group that he would be trying to sell his views on same-sex marriage to, so we're not expecting him to necessarily try that. you'll hear him speak in broad tones about inclusivity, but that could mean a number of things. it's not that he hasn't jumped into the fray during this prayer breakfast. in 2010 he criticized that anti-homosexuality bill being considered by uganda's legislature but i just think today we might not be hearing

that. last year he talked certainly in evangelical tones, talked about his personal spiritual experience how he wakes up in the morning, has a brae prayer, spends some time in devotion and scripture. that was fascinating to hear him talk about his own process, and also i have to tell you, soledad, something that just fascinates me as i'm watching this, and i see jeff sessions there at the podium, the sort of fascinating thing about this prayer breakfast is you have the president there with someone who is criticizing one of his nominees, so this is certainly an event that kind of brings some strange bedfellows together and we're watching that play out right now on the screen. >> that's interesting, because even in the bigger, if you widen out from the president and jeff sessions in the shot and you sort of look at the audience, it also is strange bedfellows, isn't it? >> this is a hostile audience. >> and sessions is one of obama's fiercest critics in the senate. recently he's been going after obama on immigration, name the issue that obama has championed,

session has been one of the leaders in the senate hitting him, one of the most conservative senators so i find these events sort of interesting. >> they're awkward. >> i was going to say they're whispering to each other as we get ready for the president to come and take the podium, he's going to make his remarks. this is the national prayer breakfast. 61st annual prayer breakfast, presidents since eisenhower attended. we're expecting to hear from the president, as we continue to monitor it. andre boticelli is singing. ♪ as we leave you with andre bow ticelli is singing, not lip syncing, we're back in a moment, stay with us.

welcome back to "starting point" everyone. top story this is morning we'll start with a shocking one out of kansas city, shocking discovery there, a teenager was found chained to a pipe in the basement, trapped there by his own parents as punishment. police found the special needs teen after responding to a tip by a neighbor who suspected the abuse. frail and skinny 17-year-old told police he'd been locked down in the basement since september. three adults are in custody and the child is in the care of protective services. in just a few hours defense secretary leon panetta and general martin dempsey will testify at a senate hearing on the deadly u.s. consulate attack in benghazi and libya. secretary of state hillary clinton appeared before the senate armed services committee last month. ambassador chris stevens and three other americans were killed in the attack september 11th. the boy scouts say they need more time, put off potentially historic vote yesterday on lifting the national ban on gay members.

the organization will take this up during their annual meeting in may. tim geithner is shopping for a publisher. the former treasury secretary is planning to write a book, of course is he, about his handling of the 2008 financial crisis. geithner came under fire for the bailout of the big banks when he was head of the new york fed. he's hoping to have the book done by next year. >> that's interesting, too, to hear a public announcement. i'm shopping for a publisher. let's take you back to the national prayer breakfast, it's the 61st annual, we're still waiting for president obama to get up and speak, chuck schumer is now at the podium. he's not a short speaker, senator schumer, who is my senator so i think as a constituent i get to say that. >> you all remember his nice but long address during the inaugural, he gave his own inaugural address before obama gave his. >> oh, that's a tough cracker. >> it's a close call.

>> let's talk about the organization that is sponsoring this. we were talking about that just a moment ago. they have a very spotty track record certainly and it's interesting that the president or really that people who don't necessarily agree with their agenda come every year and speak. >> it's almost as if he's coming to pay his respects. it's important there be a dialogue but as this group has become more extreme, and as the president has become a bigger, stronger advocate for equality their views are so dieia metrdiy exposed to each other. >> do you think he shouldn't go? >> i think he probably shouldn't go. >> when every president since eisenhower has gone i think the message you send is negative. >> i disagree. i feel like this is as we say more about the tradition of it, not that either side is going to influence the other to change their mind about gay marriage,

for example, but i think this is an instance where you remember that we're all americans. we may not agree on everything so if you take away the traditional events we become more divided as a country. >> this group has become so extreme in their views that there's not like they're out of the main stream. it's like they're on the extreme right. >> they're going to become more extreme if you don't have events like this where you have the president at least give his point of view. >> but would you go to the convention of a hate group? i mean that's what they've kind of become. they are sponsoring a bill in uganda that would provide the death penalty for someone who is gay. >> so you're saying a group that is that intolerant, how could they be the sponsor of an event ostensibly to bring people together. >> i think abby has a point, if you continue to do this you have polarized groups. there are groups on the left and right where groups absolutely

completely disagree. >> where do you draw the line? soledad you wouldn't attend any group devoted to that if they had extreme views. >> first of all you know i love sitting in and taking notes when people are saying especially when i'm not invited because that's the best way to figure out what they're talking about, what their agenda is, who their speakers are. when you don't bring cameras in you run the risk of a bigger problem but as to whether the president should go -- >> we're talking about the president of the united states, not talking about myself or richard or soledad, would you go to this group or that. you're talking about the president. >> he's invited to talk about his position so i agree with abby on this. girl power today this morning as we wait for the 61st annual national prayer breakfast to get under way, we're expecting to hear from president obama they've told us 8:05 so running a little bit late. we'll bring that to you live as soon as it happens. we'll have a short break and hopefully come back with the president's remarks. 7

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welcome back, everybody. happening right now, president obama is expected to speak any moment now at the national prayer breakfast, it's the 61st annual prayer breakfast, presidents from eisenhower on have attended a series of speakers before though are taking the mike, a long series i should say. we were expecting to hear from the president about 20 minutes ago. these remarks though that he will make this morning are his first allegedly his first to -- i can't see from a distance -- his first remarks to a faith-based group since announced his support for same-sex marriage which was back in may, right, so and then of course we've since then had his inaugural address, we'll hear from the state of the union next week. we get to white house correspondent brianna keilar, following this event all morning long. good morning, brianna. >> reporter: good morning, soledad. you were talking about the controversy on homosexuality and

some of the measures it supported but one of the interesting things to point out is i wonder when people look at this prayer service, the national prayer breakfast if they necessarily associate it with the group. i think a lot of people actually don't, they see it as kind of this sort of thing that is about more of the value of prayer or the value of religion and i do think that's one of the reasons why president obama continues the tradition going his fifth he year here. there's something religiously for politicians it's a common language, trying to bridge the gap between themselves and a number of americans. we've heard president obama do that in past years in very real terms. we've learned things about him. last year we learned that he prays every day. he said he gets up in the morning, says a brief prayer and spends some time in scripture and devotion and obviously talking i think a lot in evangelical tones at the time you look at it in this event that, yes, it's not supposed to

be a political event, but it was in an election year where a number of normally, i would say evangelical republican supporters had questions about mitt romney and you saw president obama maybe able to seize this moment, so i think sometimes it serves a political opportunity. sometimes it serves this sort of, serves as an opportunity for the president to reach out, and certainly at a time right now when he's dealing with some very divisive issues. >> they're doing a prayer, brianna for national leader, i want to dip into it. >> -- who have served this great nation, your world tells us of king david whose willingness to place his faith in you during difficult times serves as an example for us all. like david, there are many in this nation who have answered the call to serve, both in and out of uniform. lord, we are thankful for their dedication, their passion, their perseverance, and for the

families the support of their every effort. >> we continue to monitor the national prayer breakfast. this is the 61st annual prayer breakfast and there's been a lot of debate that's moved to twitter, abby, about the comments you and i had whether or not the president should be attending every president since president eisenhower has atte attended this prayer breakfast. the group that is the sponsor of the breakfast has ties to legislation that is very, i mean i wouldn't even describe it -- >> what is the twitterverse saying? >> some people agree and some disagree, how the twitterverse always goes. what if this was a prayer breakfast that sponsored a bill that think women should be killed. i think that's an interesting point. i think for the president there is an opportunity to have a platform to people who do not necessarily or definitely see eye to eye so he has an opportunity to say to that

particular group. >> brianna made a good point, most americans don't know enough about the group sponsoring this event. >> i had no idea this group sponsored it a few years ago. i thought it was a washington thing to be honest and a lot of people think that same thing. >> i've been covering this group for years and only in recent years has it become a major issue of the coverage, and has this group actually gotten a little bit more coverage. it's frankly a secretive group that doesn't tell you about what they do and how they operate. >> i'm surprised other groups haven't come in. anybody can sponsor a prayer breakfast. >> in fact the president, past presidents, this president, president clinton, have had prayer breakfasts at the white house that are white house-sponsored events, and they've, when they do that, they make a special effort to have people from all religious denominations and religion is not intolerant. many religions and many people who are leaders of religious groups who are very inclusive who support equality, support the president's positions down the line so there are many more

progressive religious institutions, but this particular group is, has some political beliefs that are on the right of the spectrum in this country. >> richard will you be disappointed if the president does not make a comment, does not address the controversy surrounding this group? >> well i think if he's going to go, he's obligated to talk directly about the issues that he said in his inaugural address are important. >> how likely is that? >> it's unlikely but he could surprise us. >> i don't think he's going to get to the mike. >> the interesting thing is they've got him and the first lady, captive audience. >> and so are we. >> and so are we and they're going to talk about what is important to them while he sits there, as long as they possibly can. >> believe it or not, there are other stories making news this morning and john berman has a look at some of the stories. the manhunt is on for a former police officer who may be armed and dangerous. authorities in california say he is the prime suspect in the

double murder of a cal state fullerton basketball coach and her fiance over the weekend. the suspect is christopher dorner, fired from the force five years ago for falsely accusing a female sergeant of kicking a man at a hotel. it's believed dorner may have committed the murders out of revenge. a winter storm is about to slam into the northeast. parts of new england are under a blizzard watch. two feet of snow, 30.8 inches in massachusetts, a lot of the area will face freezing rain and damaging winds. a new fake version of avastin, one batch sent by a new york-based distributor contained no active ingredient. it is marketed as altuzan not approved in the u.s. the only approved version is avatin, it treats colorectal brain, lung and kidney cancer.

we'll take another look at the president, who is getting ready to make his speech at the national prayer breakfast, we'll monitor this and bring the president's remarks to you live after this short break. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso.

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this is what's happening now, looking at the national prayer breakfast, the president is set to speak after a couple of speakers go before him. is that ken salazar doing the prayer for world leaders? we'll bring you the president's remarks as soon as he starts to deliver them. first we bring in and welcome chief washington correspondent jake tapper. man you followed for many years. >> i wrote a book about this one

outpost combat outpost, it was built in 2006 and october 3rd, 2009, 53 u.s. troops at the bottom of three steep mountains woke up to an overwhelming attack by the taliban, very smart attack, up to 400 taliban fighters and it seemed impossible and i asked clint rome romechier on monday who is going to be award the the medal of honor, what it was like to face these impossible odds. throughout all of this, did you ever think this is it? i'm not going to get out of here. >> it's like a fighter going into the boxing ring, you know, if you think you're going to lose before you even step into the ring, you've already lost. you're there to win, you're there to fight, you're there to, you know, your brothers to your left and right are depending on you so you don't have that in

you. >> when you talk about an overwhelming force describe to me what overwhelming is. >> it's the kind of thing where every time they opened a door to run out to deliver ammunition, a sniper would pick one of them off. there were five guys trapped in a humvee for hours, three men trapped in the mortar pit for hours. the first guy killed was running to a machine gun in the corner of the camp to return fire, killed. it was the deadliest day for the u.s. in afghanistan that year. >> tell us about clint romersha. people throw the word hero around but he's the real deal. >> we talk about athletes and actors being heroes. this is a guy who is so humble about what he did and so eager to give credit to the men who were under him and so eager to talk about the eight men who didn't come home, it really came across in the interview and well, take a listen.

tell me why it's so important to you that the enemy not get their hands on a dead american soldier. why does that thought bother you so much? >> because they're ours. i mean -- to give closure to the family, you know, to have their son one more time. i mean, we're not going to leave someone behind, never going to do it. >> clint, you're so tough on yourself. you were braver that day than most of us can imagine being,

and i can still hear it in your voice when you talk about, talking to sergeant breeding or talking to sergeant guyagos as if you failed that day. you didn't fail that day. >> yeah, but it's -- you know, i told them i'd be there. like i said, my granddad used to teach me that you know when you tell someone you're going to do something, you do it. you know, your actions is what makes you, and i know i'm hard on myself, but you know it still hurts to tell the sergeant i was going to make it to him but i just couldn't. >> wow. wow. >> and that's just what comes across in the interview is just this sense of humility, the sense of brotherhood. i've known clint now for more than two years and that's how he is in real life when the cameras aren't there, just a very, very humble guy and the story is dramatic and moving and for me personally what was so inspiring

is this is who we have in our military. these types of people, humble, willing to do everything for their brothers and sisters. >> jake, the book is simply phenomenal. it's an unbelievable read and one of the things that's strike something there are so many heroes involved that day, so i guess my question is, for the other people at the unit, in the unit, what did they think of staff sergeant romensha being awarded the medal of honor? >> they're proud and excited and a bunch of them are coming in to washington this weekend to be part of it, some of the gold star families whose sons and daddies and husbands didn't make it home alive. they're happy. this is a team of guys who felt like nobody knew they existed, and they lost eight brothers and they still felt nobody knew they existed and now one of their own is being awarded the highest honor one can bestow upon a member of the military. >> i was going to ask what is symbolic about this medal? how many received it? >> very few. clint will be on monday the 80th

living medal of honor recipient, and of the war in afghanistan, and iraq, those wars, six medals i believe have been given, but three of them have been given posthumously. usually when people do what it takes to be given a medal of honor -- >> they don't survive. >> -- running right into fire where people have died before they don't make it back. >> incredible story. we should mention again his story is also in your book which you mentioned "the outpost: untold story of american valor" and the documentary will air tonight? >> tonight at 10:00 eastern, it's called "an american hero: the uncommon valor of clint romensha." he's a great man and i think people will be inspired to hear his story. we'll hang on before we get to other stories making news. you're looking at ben carson speaking and cracking the audience up apparently. we're going to get, i think he is the last speaker before we hear from president obama and we

are going to see what the president says. just a moment ago you were saying he has an opportunity in front of this audience to say things that the audience would be not receptive to, but you doubt that he's -- >> i don't think, richard, he should take this time. you have to think about the time and place of where he's speaking and who he's speaking to. >> why attend? >> it's a platform for him to speak about equality. he doesn't have to necessarily mention gay marriage which we all agree we don't think he's going to say but it's a platform for him to, a, be under the same roof of those that disagree with him. i think that's a good thing, a good sign for the american people but i don't know, i don't think it's the time and place to -- >> while we're waiting for the. the because in a moment we'll be able to look at exactly what he does say. i want to take a moment to update stories we're following for everybody. john? the manhunt is on for a former police officer who may be armed and dangerous. authorities in california say is he the prime suspect in the double murder of a cal state fullerton basketball coach and her fiance over the weekend.

the suspect is christopher dorner, fired five years ago, it's believed he may have committed the murders out of revenge for the firing. the senate armed services committee postponed a vote on chuck hagel. the reason, republicans want more of hagel's financial information, compensation for speechers the former republican senator gave after leaving office. hagel appears to have enough senate to break a possible filibuster and ultimately be confirmed but again it has been delayed for now. chris christie is furious after former white house aide said she's concerned his weight problem might cause him to die in office. christie's response to the doctor "shut up" he says. jim acosta joins us live from washington. the governor quite blunt didn't appreciate it when the doctor was equally blunt, jim. >> no, i think, john, the governor would like a second

opinion after all of this. chris christie responded to a former white house doctor's warnings about the new jersey governor's health calling the doctor as you mentioned a "hack" and telling her to "shut up." it started earlier when the potential presidential contender appeared on "the late show with david letterman" joked about his weight and took a bite from a doughnut, that concerned former white house physician connie mariano, who described his health as a ticking time bomb. at a press conference he took issue with the doctor's diagnosis. >> she must be a genius. she should probably be the surgeon-general of the united states because she must be a genius. this is just another hack who wants five minutes on tv, and it's completely irresponsible, completely irresponsible. my children saw that last night. if she wants to get on a plane and come here to new jersey and ask me if she wants to examine me and review my medical history, i'll have a conversation with her about

that. until that time, she should shut up. >> christie was so upset dr. mariano says the governor called her yesterday to complain about her comments. >> must have been some call. any sense of how it went? >> dr. mariano says the governor was clearly venting his frustrations but she says she has no regrets and here's what she told anderson cooper last night. >> well, it was rather shocking to hear those things. i was in clinic so i did not hear his broadcast, but he used some pretty strong words there. out of deference to him, i'm not going to comment on that but i can only share with you that that phone conversation when i think of it, the words "gracious" and "appreciative" do not come to mind. >> christie said dr. mariano is welcome to look at his health. the doctor offered basically the same deal, she said the governor is welcome to come to her practice in arizona for a full physical but based on their conversation she said it's unlikely the governor is going to make that appointment.

john i had a chance to have a conversation with dr. mariano about all of this yesterday and she went back to her time advising president clinton. she was the white house physician for bill clinton when he was president of the united states and his own battle with the bulge, he was overweight, loved those big macs as people liked to point out back in the '90s and she used the same kind of blunt language with him that she used in our interview earlier this week and she says that she didn't mean any ill will towards the governor from new jersey. she just meant to offer that same kind of constructive advice to him in that same vain to help him. >> soledad is weighing in here. >> the difference is that she was clinton's doctor. i have to say and you know, i think chris christie is wrong on a lot of stuff and right on a lot of stuff but on this one, i feel his pain. >> do you think that -- >> if a doctor -- >> a former white house physician is a hack as christie says? >> i don't think she's a hack. >> do you think that goes too

far? >> i think they both -- >> she should shut up? >> i understand him saying someone who never examined me who is not a doctor and goes public saying when my kids can hear that i'm going to die in office when -- >> she said she was worried he could die in office. >> i think he has a point in that and if you take a moment and say someone looking at you or you're covering a story, john berman i'm worried he's going to drop dead while he's covering the story your twin 5-year-old boys are watching would make you mad. >> the boys are also hearing him say "shut up" to someone else. is that being diplomatic? >> she's saying if you are "x" weight the research shows if you are morbidly obese you have a higher chance of dying. she's being pretty factual. >> i agree. i think it is inappropriate for a doctor who has not examined a patient to say i'm worried he's going to drop dead in office. >> soledad this woman is the

former, has a former public health official. >> i'm sure she's qualified. >> you don't need to know too many more pieces of information to know his weight and age to know he's at a higher risk. >> soledad you're wrong on this one, yes, you're wrong. soledad you're wrong. you're outvoted. >> what she claims -- rit and wrong is not a matter of vote, i think we all know that. >> ahh. >> she claims this is the tough talk that worked with president clinton. he was her nt. i agree. >> she went on the cable news show and was asked what she thought about the weight. it's not like she ran to the nearest camera. >> she said "i'm worried he's going to die in office." >> when asked about it. >> chris christie telling people to shut up is his shtick. >> of course. i never said he was a nice man or sweet. >> when he tells a female physician who worked at the white house to shut up and she's a hack. >> agreed he's not one, he's mean about it and he's not,

certainly not diplomatic, et cetera, et cetera. i agree he's wrong but she also should not diagnose and say something like that from a distance. and not couch it as in patients who i have seen who are morbidly obese, x, y, z happens. >> what good could come of this? maybe colose a little weight? >> let me tell you something -- >> he'll have a heart attack if he gets excited about someone yelling at him. >> how you're raising your kids, you travel a lot. i bet your kids are -- i say you do not know me at all. >> that's not the same thing. >> it completely is. you don't know my life and he's saying you don't know my numbers, you don't know how healthy or not healthy i am so refrain from saying things that have an implication. john berman is just sitting here. >> she needs his age and weight to know he is at a higher risk for certain -- >> she said "i worry he's going to die in office." >> it's the way she said it.

>> his weight and how old is he, this isn't brain surgery. >> i cannot believe that i'm defending chris christie in any way, shape or form this morning but you know, i understand his anger. i really do. >> it's how she said it, she came across disrespectful and so did he. >> i agree. >> they're both wrong. we all agree. we continue to watch the prayer breakfast. you have other stories you want to update us on? >> i do. i am no hack. sticking by that. a state law maker from connecticut's newtown district is calling for a sin tax on violent video games in the wake of the sandy hook school massacre. republican debra lee hovey is proposing a tax on "m" for mature for more education on violence. steven spielberg had it wrong when he had two members of

the house delegation voting against the 13th amendment abolishing slavery. >> something's wrong here. this just cannot possibly be correct. that's a source of information a lot of people may never get any other source in terms of the history of the civil war or the 13th amendment. >> courtney says he had written a letter to spielberg and asking part of the movie be corrected before "lincoln" is released on dvd and blu-ray later this month. so recognize that supermodel? why, that's soledad o'brien walking down the runway. >> woo, woo! >> at the red dress collection fashion dress. >> i'm thinking oh, lord, please do not let me fall. >> you look gorgeous. >> a stunny cherry dress off-the-shoulder dress. the event inspires women to get and stay healthy. how high were your feels? >> about five inches, impossible to walk in. >> they keep growing. >> no, they're about five

inches. >> how do you defend your heart health with defending chris christie? >> my heart health is probably considering my numbers the fact that i'm a diabetic, i this thyroid disease are issues that affect your health and heart health. >> i was going to say looking at you, you look beautiful and healthy, so skinny and healthy. >> you don't necessarily know somebody's health factors or health risks by looking at them. that would be my point. >> unless they're morbidly obese. >> but it was a great cause and women are at high risk for heart disease and other heart ailments. >> we can all agree you look healthy. >> we all agree. >> and i did not fall which was all i was aiming for. >> did you have a fun? >> once i was off the runway. really high heels. it's scary. >> so you appreciate models. >> i appreciate them, they can really move. we're still waiting to hear from presidentby ma. he was supposed to speak almost

45 minutes ago at the national prayer breakfast. >> moving into national prayer brunch. >> we're going to bring you the comments from the president. ben carson is at the podium and he's the last speaker before we hear from the president, as soon as we hear the president's remarks we'll bring that to you live. get ready for a lot more of that new-plane smell. we're building the youngest, most modern fleet among the largest us airlines to ensure that you are more comfortable and connected than ever. we are becoming a new american. with the bing it on challenge to show google users what they've been missing on bing. let's bing it on. [fight bell: ding, ding] how many here are google users? what if i was to tell you that you would actually like bing way more than google when it came to the results? prove it. let's look up some taco places.

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some breaking news we start with a developing story on a manhunt going on right now for a former police officer who could be armed and dangerous. authorities in california say he is the prime suspect in a double murder of a cal state fullerton basketball coach and her fiance, those attacks happening over the weekend. the suspect's name is christopher dorner, he was fired

from the force five years ago after he falsely accused a female sergeant of kicking a man at a hotel. it's believed he may have committed the murders out of revenge for his firing. going to get you back to the national prayer breakfast now, happening right now in washington, d.c., you're looking at ben carson, we're expecting to hear the president who was supposed to speak at roughly 8:05 a.m. eastern time, that deadline has passed by a little bit. brianna keilar is monitoring this from the white house. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, soledad. we expect we will be hearing him rather soon. i will say that, and as you have been noting, this is the first prayer breakfast, the national prayer breakfast that the president has attended since changing his position on same-sex marriage, a view that's very much in contrast to what the group, the fellowship foundation, that puts on this breakfast that they believe in. that's an undertone going on here. we don't know if president obama

will address this. we expect he wouldn't overtly but perhaps he'll talk about equality or talk about inclus e inclusivity. i want to note, soledad, remember this is not the first time that he's sort of had this issue where he's happy to step around this sort of controversy. it was a couple weeks ago for his inauguration, the person who was supposed to give the benediction for his inauguration, louie giglio out of atlanta he had given an anti-gay sermon i think it was 10 or 15 years before, there was this controversy that surrounded that and he ended up pulling out of what is really an honor for a religious leader and instead it was a local episcopal minister from st. john's episcopal church just across lafayette park from the white house who ended up giving the benediction. it's fascinating as you see these controversies that pop up at the moments where sort of

politics and religion sort of come in close proximity to each other. >> what do we expect then to hear from the president? our last couple of minutes as we wait for him to come to the podium, we'll see him when ben carson wraps up his remarks. many presidents have come to give their remarks since eisenhower forward. what do they use the platform for? what's the point? >> reporter: it depends. last year it seemed very obvious that he was courting some evangelical voters as he has done over the year and that was an area mitt romney could have been troubled by because a lot of evangelicals were skeptical of him and no doubt president obama was trying to win some of them over as he talked about his personal spiritual practice of praying and spending time with scripture each morning. other years he confronted directly his opposition to an

anti-homosexuality measure in uganda that some accused the fellowship foundation of ultimately supporting, the foundation look issue with that, it's really been a different chance each year, a different opportunity, a different goal but the overarching theme, soledad, is that it's a chance for president obama to try to reach out to americans. religion and politics is this unifying common language sometimes and i think that's what we've seen president obama do consistently over the years as other presidents have done. >> as we monitor ben carson at the prayer breakfast and come to the end of our program we have a couple minutes so if you could draft the president's remarks today, i'm not going to start with you richard because i know where you're going to go but i will start